Red Dead Redemption Alternate Edition
by FirstOfAllImSorry
Summary: Nicolas Bailey had a terrible nightmare where he watched most of his friends die as his gang splintered and broke apart. When he woke up, the dream began to come true. Armed with the knowledge of everything that happens in Red Dead Redemption II, Nic must find a way to avoid the ending and save his gang.
1. Chapter 1

By 1899, the age of

outlaws and gunslingers

was at an end.

America was becoming

a land of laws...

Even the west had

mostly been tamed.

A few gangs still

roamed but they were being

hunted down and destroyed.

ROCKSTAR GAMES presents

RED DEAD REDEMPTION II

(Alternate Edition)

Reverend Swanson climbed out of the back of the wagon and trudged to the front, presumably to speak to Dutch and Hosea. The caravan was moving slow enough that, even freezing and fighting through the knee-high snow, he overtook the lead wagon to speak to the drivers. Probably Davey finally kicked the bucket, and the reverend was letting them know.

Nicolas Bailey had never particularly disliked Davey; still, if it had been up to him, he would have put a bullet in the man's skull hours ago. It wasn't right to let someone freeze and bleed to death in the back of a wagon. More importantly, carrying dead weight slowed them down. Maybe Sean and Mac would have gotten away too if they hadn't been slowed by lugging Davey to 'safety.' If it had been up to Nic, they would have just left him where he'd fallen—it wasn't like he'd live long enough to get hanged anyway—but that's not how Dutch Van Der Linde did things. Nic wished he had Dutch's courage sometimes.

Nic ground his teeth to keep from shivering. They would all end up like Davey if they didn't find shelter, and god only knew how much longer the horses would last in this blizzard. Not only was it brutally cold, the wind cutting through their layers viciously, but the snow was deep enough to be dangerous: a horse could trip on a hidden rock or branch in the road. That is, assuming they had managed to stay on the road, as lost as they were.

Dutch's wagon slowed to a stop, and Nic pulled on the reigns to halt his own wagon. Despite his aching muscles and popping knees, Nic stood up to get a better look at the interruption. A rider was up ahead, talking to Dutch and Hosea. Could be John, Arthur, or Micah; Nic couldn't tell who through the blizzard. Whoever they were, though, they turned and led the caravan surely though the snow. The front wagon ground forward, following him, faster than before. A bit of Nic's tension eased, and he sat back down. They at least had a direction to go now, maybe even shelter. Hope revitalizing him, and he snapped the reigns, "Get on! Just a bit farther, C'mon, girls!" Reluctantly, the horses pushed through the snow at a more purposeful clip. Nic encouraged them through the storm, the relief of not having to freeze to death making him feel almost giddy. Maybe their streak of bad luck had finally broken.

CHAPTER I

Colter


	2. Chapter 2

Hosea went inside first, gun in one hand and lantern in the other, then waved the others in. Bill and Arthur carried Davey in and dropped him on a desk near the back of the room. He didn't twitch. Miss Grimshaw set about ordering people around before everybody was even inside and accounted for. Her voice lacked its usual bark, and Nic wasn't sure whether it was from exhaustion or out of respect for Davey. Still, no one dared disobey her.

They shuffled into the old building, orderly despite the desperate need to be out of the wind. No one spoke except Dutch, who stood at the door, shepherding everyone in. Once everyone was safely inside, he closed the door, muffling the whistling wind. Nic brushed the snow off his coat and hat then tried to rub some feeling back into his numb fingers

"Davey's dead," Abigail announced, holding back tears.

Too drained to cry, everyone's shoulders just sagged just a little more. A few of the men took off their hats, despite the cold. Bill put coins on Davey's closed eyes.

"There was nothing more you could've done," Reverend Swanson said emptily.

Abigail just hung her head and hugged Jack to her side.

Nic was just as unaffected by this death as he was by all the others he'd seen. You've seen one dead body, you've seen them all in Nic's opinion. They may as well all be moving pictures. Now, he wasn't a monster; in fact, he had people in his life he would be willing to die for, if the need arose. Even so, life had never felt.. consequential to him. Like none of it mattered because, although he didn't know why or how, he would be able to do it all again and again if he wanted to, until he got it right. It's what made him so good at his job: no conscience, no fear. Like it was all a game.

"Listen. Listen to me, all of you. For a moment." Dutch didn't need to raise his voice to quiet the whole room. He stood in front of the shivering crowd, Arthur and Hosea at his side. "Now, we've had.. a bad couple of days." Everyone was either too tired or too kind to snort at the understatement of the century. "I loved Davey… Jenny. Sean, Mac: they may be ok. We don't know. But, we lost some folks." As he spoke, he looked around the room, making eye contact with everyone. Nic squared his shoulders as Dutch's eyes fell on him. "Now, if I could throw myself in the ground in their stead, I'd do it. Gladly." Several men nodded their heads in agreement. Nic doubted they'd even be able to bury Davey, the ground being as frozen as it was. He wondered if Jenny was in the ground yet. "But, we are gonna ride out, and we are gonna find some food." His voice gained its strength back. "Everybody: we're safe now. There ain't nobody following us through a storm like this one. And by the time they get here, well, we're gonna be- we're gonna be long gone. We've been through worse than this before. , Miss Grimshaw, I need you to turn this place into a camp. We may be here for a few days. Now, all of you. All of you! Get yourselves warm. Stay Strong." He squared his shoulders and raised his voice proudly. "Stay. With. Me. We ain't done yet!"

Dutch had a way of making even the worst situations just seem like opportunities for greatness. Unwavering strength and determination radiated from the man, making everyone around him feel invincible. Dutch wasn't like most gang leaders. He was different. There he was, braving the blizzard to look for their missing members. Because they all mattered to Dutch. With Dutch leading them, they were united despite their differences; a gang, a team, a family. Nic admired him. Wanted to make him proud. After a moment of hesitation, he scrambled after Arhtur and Dutch,out the door.

"I'll come too, Dutch!" Nic called, curling in on himself as the wind buffeted him. He jogged to where Dutch and Arthur were already mounted on horses. Charles shook his head as he passed Nic on his way inside.

"Goddamnit, Nic, you're as bad as Charles!" Arthur shooed him away like a stray dog.

Nic ignored him, looking up at Dutch. "I'm the best shot in the gang," Nic pleaded, "I wanna help, Dutch."

Arthur adjusted his rifle on the saddle. "We won't need guns-" He began testily, but Dutch held up a hand to silence him.

"Now, son." Dutch leaned down and put his hand on Nic's shoulder, "I appreciate your courage: not many people would be willing to go back out in this."

Nic's chest swelled under Dutch's praise, he rested his hand on his revolver proudly and held his head high.

"That's why I need you here."

Nic deflated.

"Everybody's got a job to do, and none is more or less important than the others. I need you to help look after the women and Jack, defend them, if need be," Dutch said seriously.

Nic nodded. "I won't let you down, boss"

"Good man." Dutch gave his shoulder a squeeze, "There will be time for courage later. There will be time for blood, later. That, , I promise." He turned to Arthur "Let's go."

Nic watched them fade into the swirling wind and snow.


End file.
